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[Pages:16]Kentucky Elk Report 2013

2013-2014 Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Elk Report

Prepared by: Dan Crank, Gabe Jenkins and Will Bowling

Kentucky Elk Report 2013

Table of Contents

Page

Introduction ........................................................................................................................1

Elk in Kentucky..............................................................................................................1?2

Elk Hunting Permits ......................................................................................................2?3 General Quota Hunt Permits ....................................................................................2 Commission Permits ................................................................................................2 Landowner Permits ..................................................................................................2 Youth Permits ..........................................................................................................2 Late Season Hunt Permits ........................................................................................3 Out of Zone Elk Permits ..........................................................................................3

Quota Drawing Process and Statistics ..........................................................................3?4 How Permits Are Drawn..........................................................................................3 Odds .........................................................................................................................4 License and Permit Fees ..........................................................................................4

General Information about the 2013-2014 Season..........................................................5 Season Dates ............................................................................................................5 Bag Limits................................................................................................................5 Area Permit Allotment .............................................................................................5

2013-2014 Harvest Results ............................................................................................6?7 Total Harvest by Year ..............................................................................................6 Weapon Type Harvest Summary .............................................................................6 Success Rates by Area .............................................................................................6 Success Rates by Weapon Type ..............................................................................7

Boone and Crockett Entries ..............................................................................................7

Changes for the 2014-2015 Elk Season ............................................................................8

Disease Surveillance...........................................................................................................8 Brainworm ...............................................................................................................8 Chronic Wasting Disease .........................................................................................8

Current Research......................................................................................................... 9-13 Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Adult Bull Elk in Kentucky ............ 9-12 Cause Specific Mortality, Behavior, and Group Dynamics of Cow Elk in Kentucky .......................................................................................................... 12-13

Contacts ............................................................................................................................14

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources |

Kentucky Elk Report 2013

Introduction

The Elk Program is administered under the Wildlife Division of Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR). The KDFWR is an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet. It is overseen by a nine-member commission who are nominated by Kentucky's sportsmen and sportswomen. The nominees chosen by the sportsmen and sportswomen are sent to the Governor, who appoints the Commission members for each district. The department employs about 450 full-time staff, which includes conservation officers, wildlife and fisheries biologists, conservation educators, information and technology staff, public relations and administrative professionals.

KDFWR receives no money from the state's General Fund. Agency funding is provided through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, boating registration fees, and federal grants based on the number of licenses sold in the state.

The Elk Program is tasked with managing the elk herd in the state to provide ample hunting opportunity while balancing the needs of consumptive and non-consumptive user groups. The Elk Program currently includes three biologists: Dan Crank, Will Bowling and Gabe Jenkins. Program staff are based out of headquarters in Frankfort as well as the elk zone in eastern Kentucky.

Elk In Kentucky

Elk are native to KY and were present until the mid 1880's, when the population was eliminated due to habitat degradation and overhunting. This is why the Kentucky elk program is considered a restoration, not an introduction.

Kentucky's present elk herd is a free-ranging, wild herd established from 1,550 wild elk captured

out-of-state and released into southeast KY between December 1997 and March 2002. Contributing

states included Utah, Kansas, Oregon, North Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, with the majority of elk

captured in Utah. Release sites were located in Harlan, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Martin, Perry, and Pike

counties. The elk restoration zone covers 16 counties in the southeast region of the state (approximately

3.5 million acres).

The current estimated population is approximately 10,000 animals. Kentucky has the highest elk population of any

Elk Population Estimate

10000

state east of the Mississippi River.

8000

The first elk hunt was conducted in 2001. Six bulls and six cows were harvested, with all hunters filling their permit. The same number of permits was issued in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, the number of permits was increased to 40. Beginning that year, legal deer hunters were also allowed to harvest elk outside designated elk zones in order to control populations, keeping elk numbers low in agricultural areas or poor elk habitat. The number of elk permits has increased nearly every year since 2004, with a total of 1,010 permits available in 2013.

6000

4000

2000

0 2003 2006 2009 2012

Population

Harvest

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

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Kentucky Elk Report 2013

Elk Hunting Permits

General Quota Hunt Permits

The majority of KY elk

permits are issued by way of a computer-randomized drawing. Applicants must

Elk Tags Available by Year

1000

apply online between Jan 1

800

and April 30 each year. They

may apply for each of four

600

permit types (bull archery,

400

bull firearm, antlerless

archery, and antlerless

200

firearm), but no more than once for each type. Both

0

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

resident and non-resident

Bull

Antlerless

Total

hunters may apply for the elk

permit drawing. A maximum of 10% of the available permits may go to non-resident

applicants. During the month of May, applicants' names are drawn at random by a

separate Kentucky government agency (the Commonwealth Office of Technology

[COT]) and then randomly assigned a permit type based on their application choices.

Commission Permits There are 10 Commission permits that can be used for either bulls or cows. These permits are assigned each year by the KDFWR Commission members to conservation groups. Those groups then auction or raffle the permits in order to raise money for conservation projects.

Landowner Permits KDFWR has a program that allows large land holders in the elk zone to enter their land into management agreements, in order to provide hunters additional public access to huntable land. Landowners are issued an either-sex elk permit for every 5,000 acres enrolled in the public access program. Those permits may only be used on the land the landowner enrolled in the agreement. However, the landowner may transfer or sell the permit to whoever they choose, and many landowner permits are auctioned by conservation groups.

Youth Permits Hunters that are 15 years of age or younger may apply for the youth-only drawing. There are currently 10 youth-only either-sex permits. Youth that are not chosen during the youth-only drawing are entered back into the general drawing pool in order to give them a chance at the remaining general quota hunt permits. Youth may also apply for the general drawing twice, giving them 3 chances.

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

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Kentucky Elk Report 2013

Late Season Hunt Permits The late season hunt is designed to remove elk in areas that have had elk damage concerns over a number of years. The dates of the hunt correspond with the time of year when most damage occurs. This allows hunters to target elk that are likely causing damage, and to alleviate that burden to local landowners. Hunters are limited to the Knott County and Stony Fork EMU (Elk Management Unit). Only applicants that live inside the 6 counties within the two Elk Management Units are eligible to be drawn in the late season hunt. In recent years, 25 hunters have been drawn for the late season hunt.

Out of Zone Elk Permits Elk may be taken from any county outside the 16-county Elk Restoration Zone by hunters who possess an annual Kentucky hunting license and an out-of-zone elk permit. These hunters must follow deer season and equipment regulations, but are not required to possess a deer permit.

Quota Drawing Process and Statistics

How Permits Are Drawn

Elk applications go on sale January 1 of each year and can only be purchased online at fw.. Hunters can apply for two different permit types. The application period ends at

70000 60000 50000 40000

Elk Permit Applications by Year

midnight on April 30, 2014.

30000

After the application period, a

20000

computer drawing conducted

10000

by the COT randomly selects

the hunters from the pool of

0

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

applicants. Drawn hunters must then rate (from 1-5)

Total Nonresident

which areas they would like to hunt. These areas include Hazard Limited Entry Area

(LEA), Straight Creek LEA, Caney LEA, North At Large, and South At Large. A second

computer drawing is held and hunters are assigned a hunting area based on their stated

preference and the randomized order in which they were drawn.

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

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Kentucky Elk Report 2013

Odds The odds of drawing a permit are shown in the table below. These numbers are based on how many applicants were in each permit type and how many permits were issued.

Type Bull Firearm Cow Firearm Bull Archery Cow Archery Either-sex ? Youth

In State Odds 1/134 1/26 1/77 1/13 1/87

Out of State Odds 1/627 1/85 1/561 1/66 1/239

License and Permit Fees Residents Elk Lottery Application: $10/application Elk Permit: $30 General Resident Hunting License: $20

Non-residents Elk Lottery Application: $10/application Elk Permit: $365 General Non-resident Hunting License: $130

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

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Kentucky Elk Report 2013

General Information about the 2013-2014 Season

Season Dates Archery Season Dates Bull Only: September 21?October 4, 2013 Either-sex archery and crossbow: Oct 19?20, Nov 9?Dec 13, Dec 28?31. Either-sex archery only: Oct 19?Dec 13, Dec 28?Jan 20, 2013.

Firearms Bull week 1: October 5?11 Firearms Bull week 2: October 12?18

Firearms Cow week 1: December 7?13 Firearms Cow week 2: Dec 14?20

Bag Limits Elk hunters may only take one elk per year.

Area Permit Allotment

Bull Archery Cow Archery Bull Firearm Week 1 Bull Firearm Week 2 Cow Firearm Week 1 Cow Firearm Week 2 Total

Caney LEA Hazard

LEA

4

16

9

75

3

17

3

17

12

66

12

66

43

257

Straight North At

Creek LEA Large

16

32

61

73

17

19

South At Large 32

72

19

Total 100 290 75

17

19

19

75

46

53

53

230

46

53

53

230

203

249

248

1000

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

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Kentucky Elk Report 2013

2013-2014 Harvest Results

Total Harvest by Year

600 500 400 300 200 100

0 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Anterless Bulls

Weapon Type Harvest Summary

400 300 200 100

0 2013

Bull Archery Bull Firearm Cow Archery Cow Firearm

Success Rates by Area

Bull Archery Bull Week 1 Bull Week 2 Cow Archery Cow Week 1 Cow Week 2

Caney LEA

50% 100% 100% 33% 50% 58%

Hazard LEA

83% 88% 100% 31% 86% 74%

Straight Creek LEA

73% 82% 76% 27% 73% 50%

North At Large 71% 88% 92% 51% 51% 59%

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

South At Large 43% 77% 79% 32% 77% 72%

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